Pest control between drinks

PIGGYBACK LOAD: Pete Blommoert of Pete's Natural Lemonade with some of the trapping tunnels he and his wife will transport to Auckland.

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Pete and Marleen Blommaert will have extra cargo with them when they travel north for the Auckland Food Show.

The Tapawera couple who are behind the business Pete's Natural Lemonade are taking with them more than 100 trapping tunnels to be used in conservation projects in the North Island.

The tunnels were made by Nelson conservationist Don Sullivan after two Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology students told Mr Sullivan of their plans to start restoration projects in the North Island.

The students, Geoff Reid and Hopeha Waenga, were thrilled with the tunnels but had no way to get them to the North Island and contacted the Nelson Mail for help.

Mrs Blommaert said they read the story about the tunnels and worked out they could help.

She said their truck would be full of pallets of lemonade to take to the food show, but they would have room around them for the extra items especially as they were light.

"It's always good to help some people."

Mrs Blommaert said the conservation projects were good to support. "I think it's nice to save them [birds] while we can."

The couple will take a ferry to Wellington tomorrow and will met Mr Reid in Auckland to deliver the tunnels.

Mr Reid and Mr Waenga spent last year studying conservation at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology.

Mr Sullivan is a mainstay in the Marsden Valley trapping group and when he is not out working in the hills, dedicates his free time to making trapping tunnels and nesting boxes. His tunnels can be found on numerous volunteer pest control projects around Nelson.

Mr Reid intends to set up a community project to restore the health of an important piece of coastal subtropical broadleaf forest above Auckland's North Shore.

Mr Waenga intended to use his tunnels in a community project on the East Cape.